Maurice Beard, affectionally known as 'nogger' by his ex pupils passed away on June 8th. Maurice a teacher at Hillside School and then Paulet High School was a driving force in establishing what was then Burton and South Derbyshire Schools Football Association and later Burton and District Schools FA.

Maurice served as a team manager, secretary, Chairman of the Association and was the long serving Head of PE at Hillside School. A man of strong opinions and a teacher of the old school Maurice was a well respected figure in school football circles.

He will be missed and the Association sends it hearfelt condolences to his family.

His funeral will take place at Fradley/Lichfield crematorium on Monday 23rd June at 3-00pm

On Monday at Meadowside leisure centre several schools from Burton and its surrounding area took part in an indoor 5 a side festival for Y5 and 6 girls. The festival was a pre-cursor, to the girls who took part ,going on to the Pirelli Stadium to watch England U17 Girls take on Portugal in the UEFA Under 17 Championships.

Many of the girls who were involved in the morning had little or no experience of playing football of any description but that was immaterial as the festival was designed to be fun. No scores or scorers were recorded and the winners were the participants who all seemed to have a really good time. An added bonus and part of the Festival was an appearance by Jill Scott, a current full England International who has been in the headlines recently, signing for the newly formed Manchester City from Everton.

The excitement that the girls felt was palpable and the noise levels reached a decibel level above safety standards such was their enthusiasm. The standard of football may not have been the greatest but the joy of scoring a goal or the goalkeeper making a save was just as enjoyable to these girls as to their England counterparts in the afternoon game against Portugal.The Staffordshire FA and in particular Jodie Allard played a major part in the organisation and her colleague Alison Watson provided the photographs used here. The referees were barely required and despite the odd bump and bruise all went according to plan.

In days when Schools are becoming more and more reluctant to release staff and pupils from their day to day commitments the educational value of such events is immeasurable. The girls were given an opportunity to play a new game and hopefully have acquired a taste for it may consider playing again and joining a team or club. The chance to meet and speak, up close and personal, to a current International as well as throw questions at them was an opportunity not to be missed.Their social skille were in overdrive.

To take part and meet and play with girls from different schools and for staff to exchange ideas and views is something that cannot be measured but the value cannot be denied.The girls visit to a stadium and to be able to watch future England hopefuls as well as enjoy the activities of the fanzone are things that will live long in the memory of these young people. It is a pity that some schools refused the chance to take part but congratulations to those schools who did and I am sure they will reap future benefits from their day out at football and hopefully we will see a new generation of girls enthused to play the beautiful game.

The photograph below illustrates superbly the unbridled joy of the girls taking part.

Shania Hayles played a starring role for Staffordshire Schools Under 14 girls last night in the Sony Play Station Cup.

The opposing defence struggled to contain her with her pace and direct running scoring once and forcing a defender to head into her own goal in a convincing 4-1 win. This was the fourth County game in a row that Shania has been on the scoresheet and the victory gives Staffordshire a home tie against Kent Schools FA, the team that Staffordshire lost to in the semi final of the competition last season.The De Ferrers schoolgirl who is at the Aston Villa centre of excellence is improving every game

John Taylor School were invited to take part in the official launch of team 16, an FA/ESFA initiative to increase participation in football in secondary schools but specifically aimed at those who do not play for a school or club team and which will have particular relevance to girls.

The activity is student lead using volunteers and activators. There are windows of opportunity to be part of the programme and schools who are interested should visit the FA website at TheFa.com .Demand is expected to be heavy in the initial stages. The whole programme is supported throughout and is well worth considering.

William Allitt claimed the local bragging rights with a 2-0 victory over South Derbyshire neighbours Pingle on Tuesday in the BDSFA Under 16 Cup Final.

The disappointment of missing out at playing at the Pirelli Stadium due to the great success of our local league club meant that the finals of the locl cups had to be staged on the 3G at Pingle. This did not deter the schools fom putting on an excellent show with William Allitt running out winners in an excellent close fought encounter, Allit scoring in the 23rd minute of each half.